It’s the most extreme chaos imaginable, heading into the final two weeks of the regular season—with so many national-championship possibilities, it’s hard to know where to start.

Except for Notre Dame. The Irish, third in last week’s BCS standings, hammered Wake Forest 38-0 on Saturday in South Bend. They will be the new BCS No. 1. They are now in win-and-in mode: Get a W at USC on Nov. 24, and Miami is theirs. A first national title in 24 years is an amazingly real possibility.

But whom will the Irish meet if they get there? And will they get there?

Defending champ Alabama is back in the mix in a huge way. How did we know that was going to happen? The No. 4 Tide (10-1) eked out a 49-0 victory over mighty Western Carolina. What they need to do now is, simply, flatten a horrendous Auburn team in the Iron Bowl and then whup up on No. 5 Georgia (10-1) in the SEC title game on Dec. 1.

Of course, Georgia has a chance to beat Georgia Tech and Alabama and get to Miami itself.

But what if Notre Dame loses at USC—something that clearly could happen?

Hello, Florida at Florida State this coming weekend. The No. 6 Gators (10-1) would get in—almost surely opposite the SEC champion—with a win over the home-favorite Seminoles. Just as FSU, only 10th in the BCS standings entering Week 12, could move all the way onto the Miami stage by beating the Gators and then, as expected, crushing an inferior Coastal Division opponent (Miami or Georgia Tech) in the ACC title game.

Whew.

There are still so many things that can happen. This ride has gone wild. Good luck to us all.

DECLAWED, DEFANGED, DE-EVERYTHINGED

The Wildcats went down so hard at Baylor on Saturday night, the national championship talk about the Wildcats suddenly seems silly. The Big 12 title assumptions suddenly seem foolish. Why can’t Texas win in Manhattan, Kan., on Dec. 1? Of course the Longhorns can.

The Bears—who entered this season-defining matchup under .500 at 4-5 overall and an embarrassing 1-5 in league play—did whatever they wanted vs. Bill Snyder’s Heisman-hopeful quarterback, Collin Klein, and the old coach’s previously impressive defense.

The final score was 52-24. The game wasn’t even that close.

K-State trailed 28-7 before it even got its bearings. It was 28-17 at the half, with momentum seemingly on the Wildcats’ side in a big way.

It was just a tease.

Baylor rolled up 580 yards, to K-State’s 362. The Bears turned the ball over twice, but their FBS-worst defense forced three giveaways—all of them interceptions thrown by Klein, whose Heisman chances took a massive hit.

THE NEXT PAC-12 RIVALRY

How does back-to-back Stanford vs. UCLA games sound?

The Cardinal now are 9-2 overall and, more important, 7-1 in Pac-12 play. That gives them a tiebreaker edge over 7-1 Oregon. With a game this coming weekend at 9-2 (6-2) UCLA, which has clinched the South Division crown, it’s a matter of beating the Bruins merely for the right to face them again in the league title game.

If UCLA knocks off Stanford—a week after a season-making 38-28 takedown of USC in the de facto South title game—then the Bruins are looking at Oregon, assuming the Ducks handle Oregon State in Corvallis first (mind you, a sizable assumption).

“We can beat anybody we play,” Stanford coach David Shaw said on the field in Eugene, “no matter what they’re ranked and no matter what we’re ranked. … When we play our best, we can play with anybody in the country.”

Maybe UCLA can, too.

BUCKEYES WIN UGLY

A popular topic bubbled up during the past week, as college football’s top 2012 teams—with one notable exception—homed in on securing BCS-game opportunities.

People wondered: Where would Ohio State be in the BCS standings if it were eligible for the postseason? What would have to happen for the Buckeyes to reach the national title game?

Those questions weren’t half as relevant as they are now, after two unbeatens ranked ahead of the Buckeyes in the AP poll lost.

Or maybe those questions simply are irrelevant. It depends on your point of view. Obviously, Ohio State’s season will be done in one week regardless.

We’ll say this, for what it’s worth: The Buckeyes’ 21-14 overtime win at Wisconsin on Saturday wasn’t much to look at.

Yes, their 11-0 is a big deal. Yes, their first divisional crown since the Big Ten realigned is a big deal. No, it doesn’t take a BCS game—in Pasadena or Miami—to validate the quality work that’s been done within Urban Meyer’s program over the past several months.

But does anyone who watched the Buckeyes be outgained 359 yards to 236—by a subpar Badgers team that was led by a third-string quarterback—really think Braxton Miller and his teammates are good enough to beat the teams that are still jockeying to get to Miami?

OSU is good, mind you. Real good. But perhaps not quite good enough yet to warrant all these “what ifs.”

“You can’t say it’s been perfect,” Meyer said during the week of his team’s performance this season.

Ohio State—undefeated still, but far from perfect—was lucky to get out of Madison with win No. 11. Not that they’ll be apologizing for anything back in Columbus.

THIS AND THAT

—Johnny Manziel, welcome to the Heisman Trophy lead. Mr. Klein left a nice, warm seat for you. Try not to fall off it by attempting any more ridiculous PATs—not a good look.

—Did you take note of that 10-3 win by Rutgers (9-1, 5-0 Big East) at Cincinnati? The Scarlet Knights had the league’s top-ranked offense shut out until a dinky little field goal with 11 seconds left. Mark your calendars for Thursday, Nov. 29, when they almost certainly will host Louisville with the conference title on the line for both schools.

—Louisiana Tech put on a public-relations full-court press last week about why the Bulldogs belong in the BCS top 16. Then Sonny Dykes’ team lost 48-41 at home to Utah State, likely giving the WAC championship to the Aggies. USU’s Kerwynn Williams was an under-the-radar star on Saturday, rushing for 162 yards and two touchdowns and adding 125 yards receiving with a third score.

“It was kind of like a dream—an opportunity to do something special,” Dykes said afterward about what had been a pretty magical 9-1 season, with the only loss coming in a barn-burner vs. Texas A&M. “You have to wrap your arms around it when you get that kind of chance to do something special.”

—Congrats to Montee Ball for tying the FBS career record for touchdowns scored. In that loss to Ohio State, Ball had a chance to break the record—but he fumbled inside the Buckeyes’ 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. It was a tough way to go out at home, with only the second lost fumble of his great career. But Ball was terrific in his last game at Camp Randall, rushing for 191 extremely hard-fought yards. He’ll have to settle for setting the record this coming Saturday at Penn State.